Ander Herrera took a wrong turn en route to Old Trafford on Monday but his United career is heading in the right direction.

Herrera was the designated driver and Radamel Falcao was sat in the passenger seat, as the Spaniard ended up in the players' car park, rather than the north stand shuddering schoolgirls were waiting by.

The Spaniard's navigation on the pitch at Swansea on Saturday was more assured. Bright, energetic and vocal, he dealt out advice to the tentative Paddy McNair as Louis van Gaal watched on from his seat, before scoring a delicate and precise opener.

Herrera is joined by Phil, translator to Manchester football's Spanish speakers, but his English is excellent for someone who arrived in the country only in June.

He had time to prepare after United failed to clinch a deal for the former Athletic Bilbao midfielder 10 months earlier. Herrera was travelling with friends on holiday in Spain when he received the news that, this time, he would become a United player.

"Even though I missed my holidays," he jokes.

Herrera is making up for the lost time, having scored five goals from nine starts.

Paul Scholes was the last United midfielder to hit double-figures in the goals tally and he serves as an inspiration for Herrera, who interrupts this writer's question as soon as Scholes' name is dropped.

"Paul Scholes is maybe the biggest midfielder in the United history," Herrera beams.

"Really?"

"Yes. I want to be Ander Herrera, I want to learn things from Paul Scholes, things from Michael Carrick, things from Wayne Rooney, I wish one day..."

He tails off, as if hesitant to make the comparison.

"I wish one day... I can be so important for the fans, but I have to work very, very hard for that.

"But, I think I am 25-years-old, I have to learn a lot from my teammates, from great players like Paul Scholes and I want to learn."

During a Q&A with Falcao and pupils from Astley Sports College in Dukinfield, it is the Colombian who plumps for Scholes as a player he could sign, past or present, whereas Herrera suggests Lionel Messi.

"This is not good for Man United fans because everyone loves Ronaldo, but I think I would sign Messi," he answers, before diplomatically backtracking.

Falcao's English is decent but he responds shyly. Herrera translated the odd sentence for him during their kick-about on the 3G pitch adjacent to Sir Alex Ferguson's statue and is the extrovert in Old Trafford's Salford Suite.

"I didn't know how good the academy is here," he confesses.

"Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira are young players for Manchester United that are going to be very important players for many years."

Herrera is now above Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao in the United goalscoring charts.

Herrera appeals to the masses, which is why his exclusion from the first-team baffled supporters impressed earlier in the season by his impetus and forward-thinking, skills first glimpsed when he and Athletic Bilbao produced one of the finest performances from an away side at United in a 2012 Europa League win.

"It's unusual, no?" he says when recalling Athletic's two triumphs over United three years ago.

Herrera has started four games in four months and scored in three of them and assisted in the other. The former Real Zaragoza midfielder has eased back into the side and is now above Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao in the United goalscoring charts.

He is not about to complain about his recent omission, though.

"I like to help the team," he adds.

"When the manager wants me to play I am going to be ready to play. When the manager wants me to help from the bench, I am going to be ready also.

"Because I am a Manchester United player, I am a professional. I feel lucky because I play for Manchester United and I am going to help the club and the team always.

"Of course, everyone wants to play but we have 25 players or more, maybe. It is not easy to play for Manchester United but I work for that. I like to play, I like to help the team but I like, even more, to win games."

Popular with Athletic supporters, Herrera has quickly established himself as one of the most likeable players in the United squad.

A fan of English football and culture before he arrived in Manchester, he reveals how Van Gaal has encouraged the players to form a closer bond with supporters.

"I think it's good that the fans are close to us because they show their love for the club, their love for the players and how big the club is," Herrera enthuses.

"I think this is the most important thing. They show us how big the club is, how important it is for them to win games, be in a good position.

"Louis van Gaal is always asking us to be close to the people, for example, after the games we are always signing autographs to everyone who is waiting for us because they are very important for the club and I agree with our manager in this case."